1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to waveguides, transmission lines, and resonators in multilayer printed circuit board structures. In particular the invention concerns a coaxial line structure in printed circuits.
2. Background of the Invention
Prior art transmission lines used in printed circuits have mainly been microstrips, coplanar waveguides, and striplines. If a coaxial line would have been needed in a circuit board, the coaxial line would have been attached separately to the surrounding circuitry on the surface of the printed circuit. This creates a potential reliability risk due to the increased number of joints, additional electrical loss, and increased temperature related to discontinuity effects. Manufacturing is expensive because of the discrete nature of a coaxial line. Coaxial structures are also relatively large because the dielectric material in the coaxial has a low dielectric constant εr=2–4). Conventional coaxial structures also need space for supporting and protective layers around the cable.
As mentioned above, microstrips, coplanar waveguides, and striplines are the usual structures in multilayer printed circuits as mentioned. These are sensitive to EMC (Electromagnetic compatibility) disturbances, such as electromagnetic interference. Due to the effect of radiation, especially at high frequencies, conventional multilayer transmission lines have high transmission losses as well. Using typical multilayer transmission line structures means that only moderate Q values can be gained, making it difficult to apply multilayer ceramics technologies in high Q value applications, such as resonators.
The objective of the invention is to decrease the above-mentioned drawbacks of known solutions.